Chapter 12 - Xavier

Xavier

“ R ight now?”

I glanced around the kitchen still trying to get a handle on my breathing from what we’d just finished doing outside. I could go again, obviously. I liked her greedy demand. Victoria is the kind of woman who could get me hard over and over. The kind I’d spend every single day shagging and still want more. I’d bend her over my kitchen counter right now but…

This sounds odd coming from me but I needed a minute to process what the fuck I was feeling.

“You look like you need a drink.” She giggled. “Get comfortable on the couch, I’ll bring you one.”

“You don’t have to.“

“I know I don’t have to. I want to. Sit.” She pointed at the couch with an air of finality and so I did as she requested. Or ordered? I smiled to myself and sank into the cushions.

“Can I ask you something?” Her soft voice sent shivers through me. She walked toward the couch carrying two glasses of scotch. This is a post-sex ritual I could get quite used to.

“You can ask me anything.” I took a glass. “You can always ask me anything.”

She knelt in front of me between my legs and reclined her forearm on my thigh. The whole thing was so graceful and intimate and natural and…

I will marry this woman.

I nearly choked on my drink.

Noooo, Xavier. What the fuck?

“I’ve been thinking about what you said at dinner. About renovating houses?” Her eyes widened with a hopeful glow. “Would you be willing to help me find someone who can fix up my family’s cottage? I’m sure you have connections or contacts.”

I cupped my hand behind her head and smiled. “I’d be happy to help.”

“Really?” She looked radiant. “I can give you the keys tomorrow. That way you can go in whenever you want and…well, you can go in if you need to.” She smiled and I wanted to kiss her. “Thank you. I realize we don’t know each other that well, so, I just…I appreciate it.”

I swallowed my drink and put the empty glass on the table. She’s right. We don’t know each other that well. Something I plan to rectify as soon as possible.

Victoria glanced up at me, her face thoughtful. “You look like you have something you want to say.”

“I know the house means a lot to you. When I saw you upset and arguing with the guy from the charity yesterday I wanted to ring his neck. I don’t care how much work I do with them, you didn’t deserve to be treated that way.”

She cast her eyes down. “I call it the Helena effect. When my mom gets involved in things she’s like a cyclone sometimes. I’m used to it though. She’s been this way since my twin died. ”

“What about your dad?”

“He’s not as chaotic. We talk every once in a while but I can tell there’s an undercurrent of heartache. I sound like her. I look like her. But I’m not her so…” Her eyes met mine again. For the first time since we’ve met, she looked sad. “Sometimes I wonder if they’ve even noticed everything I’ve accomplished. They only showed up at my graduation from Dartmouth because my mother said it was a,” she made air quotes, “status event.”

Her pretty mouth formed a tense line. Some sort of internal battle raged behind those eyes. Almost like she was telling me these things against her will.

“I didn’t mean to upset you.”

She squeezed my thigh before responding. “You didn’t. This is my default reaction when anyone talks to me about my family.”

“I bet they’re very proud of the exceptional woman you’ve become.”

“Yeah. So proud.” Her laugh was bitter. “You wouldn’t understand, Xavier. You didn’t ruin anyone’s life. You’re an international soccer star. One of the top athletes to play the sport. Millions of people love you. Your parents must be beside themselves with pride.”

I couldn’t look at her. “Actually, my dad has zero interest in my career. And my mum died not too long after I was born. The only one who cares a little is my step-mum.” I hated how flat and dispassionate my voice sounded.

“I’m so sorry. I assumed…I’m sorry.” Victoria climbed onto my lap and hugged me.

I can’t remember the last time I let someone comfort me.

This felt good. I held her tighter, burying my face in her neck, getting lost in her warm, vanilla scent. I wanted to comfort her just as much.

When she pulled back to look at me everything shifted. My world tilted. And then the thing in my chest hit me. Only it wasn’t a thing anymore. It was a feeling. A feeling I’ve never had before. Frantic, insistent, powerful.

This can’t be what I think it is, can it?

Noooo.

I’ve had girlfriends before. But I never felt this.

Not that Victoria was my girlfriend or anything.

I mean, she could be.

FOCUS, MADDOX.

“You’re having one hell of an internal conversation with yourself aren’t you?”

Victoria’s amused question snapped me back to the present. The present where I had a hot woman straddling me after we had mind-melting sex out on my patio. A gorgeous woman I actually wanted for more than just a quick shag.

A smart, funny, wildly sexy woman I was starting to really care about.

“Sorry.” I grinned.

“As a fellow sometimes over-thinker, you’re excused.” She drew lazy paths along the tattoos on my chest. “I didn’t upset you, did I? When I assumed your family was normal?”

“Not really.” I shrugged. “I don’t generally talk about my mum or dad much so…” I shrugged again, toying with her hair. “But you can ask me about them if you want to.”

“Not quite the sexy pillow talk you probably have with your other ladies, is it?”

“Ah, let me think.” I rested my hands on her thighs. “I don’t have any sexy pillows.”

“Jackass,” she laughed. “You know what I mean.”

“Mmm, I do. You want the truth?”

“Always.”

“This will make me sound like a cad, you know.” I lifted an eyebrow.

“A professional athlete behaving badly? Pfft. Say it isn’t so.”

A barrage of nervous energy flowed through me which was weird because I don’t get nervous with women. But it’s Victoria and I wanted to impress her, not divulge anything super shitty about myself.

“I don’t usually engage in pillow talk,” I confessed. “I mean, not hours and hours of it. Not even five minutes worth.”

“Is that a policy of yours?”

“I don’t have any policies or rules.” I smirked. “Stuff like that breaks too easily.”

“Are you shading me, Maddox?”

“If the policy fits,” I joked.

“Wow,” she exclaimed, her laughter vibrating in every part of me. “And here I thought you liked me.”

I do. I like you too much.

The thought winded me. So did the thing in my chest which is now the feeling in my chest.

“Not to change the subject or anything,” I said, “but how would I go about making a donation to your sister’s charity?”

The laughter faded. Her eyes widened in shock. “What?”

“The animal shelter. Do they have a website or something?”

I’m not too proud to admit I was partly doing this because I wanted to score points with her the same way Noah did. My stomach clenched wondering who the fuck that guy was and how he managed to get her to smile the way she did.

“Um, yeah. Yes,” she responded. “They have a website. I’ll text you the link.” She regarded me curiously. “Why are you doing this?”

I lifted my shoulder in a small shrug. “It sounded important when you spoke about it at dinner. Do you not want me to?”

Her head tilted to the side in this adorable, frustrated movement. “They need all the help they can get, Xavier. I’m not going to turn down your generosity. You just surprised me, that’s all.”

“In a good way?” I leaned back into the cushion and smiled up at her.

The way she straddled my lap in such a graceful, refined manner sent an unexpected shiver up and down my spine. My shirt was much too big on her, so it hung off her shoulder, exposing just enough skin to appear tempting and flirty. Seeing her in my clothes was a massive turn on.

Her gorgeous smile lit me up inside. “Yes, in a good way,” she answered. “What other surprises do you have for me?”

Stay in gentleman mode, stay in gentleman mode.

“All will be revealed in due time.”

The room came to life with her sweet-sounding laugh. In all the years I’ve owned this flat it never felt like this. Like an actual home. A place I’d want to share with someone. Even the air feels different. And it’s all because this stunning woman walked into my life.

Fidgeting with the too-long sleeves of the shirt, she looked at me with pure wonder, like she was seeing me for the first time. Can’t say a woman has ever looked at me in this way before. They’re usually fawning over me or wide-eyed about being in my presence or tossing out over-used pick up lines.

Admittedly, I never shied away from the attention because I liked it.

I liked it even though I knew it was superficial and they only wanted to be with me because I’m, well, Xavier Fucking Maddox.

Gentle strokes on my chest disrupted my thoughts. Victoria leaned in, pressing her lips to mine. Her kiss was soft and assured and the sexiest bloody kiss ever. She parted my mouth with her tongue, exploring and savoring me.

I fisted my hand in her hair, ready to tilt and position how I wanted her mouth. But her low moan stopped me. Odd, since I loved those sounds. They fed my natural instinct to be rough and aggressive.

This time I let her retain control and relished how she experienced me.

The sweet way she laced her hands behind my neck.

The soft fluttering of her tongue .

The sexy noises she made when I slid my hands up her thighs to cup her backside.

When she broke the kiss I wanted to grab her and keep going. Especially when she bit down on her lip and gazed at me in that wondrous way again.

Every sense memory I have of her —her taste, her smell, her touch, her sounds— skittered through me, gathering in a cloud of adoration and lust.

Right now lust was winning.

“You look like you have something you want to say,” she said. “Do you?”

Fuck gentleman mode.

“Yes.” I slid my hand between her legs.

Victoria

I surrendered at once, melting from his touch. My back hit the couch with a soft thud when he flipped me over. Xavier knelt in front of me, pulling my hips to the edge of the cushion.

“I could get used to seeing you on your knees,” I purred.

“Oh really?”

“It’s hot.”

He stared up at me. “Quiet.”

The way his rough stubble scratched my skin when he kissed his way up my thighs was better than I could have imagined.

Glancing up at me, eyes brimming with lust, he slowly licked my sensitive skin, teasing my entrance. I unbuttoned the shirt I wore —his shirt— and moved my hands to my stomach, lightly caressing myself. The combined sensations sent shivers through me.

Xavier’s mouth was on mine in a searing kiss without much warning. One of his hands covered mine, sliding it lower until our fingers stroked my sex together. I moaned against his parted lips when he pushed my fingers inside. I’d done this many times on my own but never with a partner.

“Get wet for me, dirty princess.”

“Like I’m not already,” I breathed, massaging myself faster, tracing circles around my clit and holding his heated stare.

A low moan passed his lips when he bent his head down to watch what I was doing. He flicked his eyes back to mine. “My turn.”

Returning to his knees, he lifted my hand and sucked my arousal off my fingers. The way he closed his eyes and savored what he tasted turned me on even more.

His fingers slid along my folds to the tip of my swollen clit. Then he licked and kissed it. “You taste so good,” he whispered against my skin. “I want more.”

He spread my legs wider, pressing his fingers into my thighs as he turned all of his attention to the one place I’ve been waiting for him to explore with his mouth. I squirmed when he opened me with his thumbs and teased me with his fingers.

“We have to work on your patience, love,” he told me in his deep, gruff way. “I’m going to take my time with your precious cunt.”

This man will most definitely destroy me with his words.

And yeah, I’m totally okay with it.

As promised, he took his time kissing, tasting, and exploring. Feeling his tongue adore and exalt me while he kissed my pussy so deep and thorough was unlike anything I’ve experienced. Most guys I’ve been with used oral sex as a gateway to get to the main event. Xavier used it as act of worship.

When he paused to look up at me, I inhaled sharply. A sultry grin curled his glistening lips before he continued taking his sweet time devouring me. I grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled.

His answering groan made my toes curl .

I felt his tongue seek out my beaded, stiff clit.

The steady licks and flickers made me whimper.

When he sucked on it, I bowed my back, causing him to flatten his hand on my stomach to keep me in place.

“I’m going to make you feel so good, love,” he murmured, the feel of his breath accelerating my knotting, twisting climax.

He nibbled on it and I bucked my hips so hard I almost slid off the couch. He hooked both his arms under my thighs, holding me tight while he stroked me with his tongue.

Then he sucked my clit and I gasped.

Then—

Sharp, intense pleasure that bordered on pain shot through my body, making it impossible to breathe. I cried out, arching my back, pulling his hair, unable to still the violent tremors coursing through me. I’d never felt anything like this my life. Then I felt the softest, gentlest flicks of his tongue, soothing me and coaxing another orgasm.

My body sunk into the cushions. Sated and relaxed.

If I die now, I’ll die happy.

Xavier hovered over my shattered body, licking his lips. He pressed a soft kiss to the corner of my mouth.

“Did you bite my clit?” I asked, sounding a bit delirious.

“Mmm, I wouldn’t call it a bite, per se. More like an enthusiastic nibble.” He smiled. “I’d ask if you liked it but you came really hard on my tongue. Twice.”

“Where the hell did you learn that?”

His quiet laugh sent chills though me. I went limp when he kissed me long, slow and deep.